2009 ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

Contact: Mark Williams Media Official 904-655-5380 [email protected]

Dates: April 20-26, 2009 Where: TPC Louisiana, Avondale, LA Par/Yards: (72/7,341) Field: 156 Purse: $6,300,000; Winner’s Share: $1,134,000 Format: 72-hole

KEY STORYLINES: makes professional debut – Danny Lee, the teenage sensation from who won the 2008 U.S. Amateur Championship at Pinehurst No. 2, is scheduled to make his professional debut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans after bowing out of the amateur ranks with a missed cut (74- 81) at the . Lee hopes to earn enough money to become exempt without having to make a visit to the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament at the end of the season. The 2009 Classic winner is No. 146 on the Official World Ranking, one spot ahead of . Below is Lee’s record in professional events:

Tournament TOUR Result 2008 PGA TOUR T20 2008 Turning Stone Resort Championship PGA TOUR MC 2008 Sportsbet Australasia T11 2008 Championship Australasia T24 2009 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship European T35 2009 European 1 2009 Moonah Classic Nationwide MC 2009 HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship Nationwide T7 2009 Michael Hill Nationwide MC 2009 Masters Tournament PGA TOUR MC

Louisiana Forward Economic Summit -- This event will take place from 12:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21 at the Coca-Cola Grille. Speakers include: Jim Schiro, CEO of Zurich; PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem; Stephen Moret, Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development; 2008 Captain Paul Azinger; and Louisiana native David Toms.

Charity -- The Fore!Kids Foundation has helped to raise nearly $17 million for children's charities in the Greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge area since its inception. In 2006, the tournament was the first nationally televised sporting event after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the area and many players committed their earnings from that tournament to the hurricane relief effort.

• One of the Fore!Kids charities, St. Michael Special School, will have a ribbon-cutting for the St. Michael Vocational Training Building sponsored by Zurich Financial Services on Friday, April 24 at 10:30 a.m. The Vocational Training complex will include a Life Skills lab for crafts, woodworking, sewing, home economics, computer and academic classrooms geared for its 16- to 21-year-old students. When completed, the 10,400-square-foot addition will offer eight classrooms, an office and conference room. As part of the ribbon cutting, St. Michael’s students will perform a play for the Zurich executives who, in turn, will perform a song for the students.

• Title sponsor Zurich, through the leadership of CEO Jim Schiro, is heavily invested in revitalizing the New Orleans community. Zurich clients and guests will have the opportunity to work on the St. Bernard Project, a non-profit organization that refurbishes existing homes in St. Bernard Parish that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. St. Bernard Project co-founder Liz McCartney was named the 2008 “Hero of the Year” by CNN. The St. Bernard Project has completed 200 homes to date with 30 homes currently being rebuilt.

• Two members of The First Tee, Clifton Jordan (Memphis) and Randon Holt (Atlanta), will be guests of Zurich and play in the Wednesday Pro-Am. Both Jordan and Holt participated last year in the Champions Tour’s Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

Romero returns – Andres Romero, named 2008 Rookie of the Year after earning his first PGA TOUR victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, returns to defend his title. The Argentina native played the remainder of 2008, after his win, with just two top-10 finishes to his name, a T8 at the Masters Tournament and a T7 at the PGA Championship. After wrapping up the title with three rounds in the 60s (73-69-65-68), Romero didn’t shoot another round in the 60s until a final-round 67 at the AT&T National – a span of 20 rounds. Since his win Romero has made the cut in five consecutive major championships, most recently a T49 at the 2009 Masters Tournament. This year the 27-year-old has a season-best T3 finish at the Northern Trust Open, finishing two shots back of winner, Phil Mickelson.

Toms’ turn-around – Louisiana native David Toms made two major changes recently. The first was re- hiring his old , Scott Gneiser, at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last year after a one-year hiatus. The second was reverting back to his previous equipment company, Cleveland Golf, with whom he won 11 of his 12 PGA TOUR titles. The 2001 PGA Championship winner is fifth in scoring average this year (69.65 thru Masters) and looks to be back on track after a less-than-satisfactory 2008 when he earned just one top-10 finish (T8/Viking Classic) and failed to make more than $2 million in a season ($799,114) for the first time this decade. After nine consecutive years finishing inside the top-32 on the money list, Toms was 131st last year. Toms won this event in 2001 with 22-under 266, the equal best score (, 2004) since Chip Beck set the tournament record 262 in 1988. Toms is a big LSU football fan. In 2001, shortly after his PGA Championship victory, he flipped the coin for the LSU-Tulane game and received a standing ovation from 90,000 fans.

Watney hot – No player managed to post four rounds in the 60s at the 2008 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In 2007, Nick Watney became the first Zurich Classic of New Orleans winner to post all four rounds in the 60s (69-67-68-69) since Carlos Franco turned the trick in 2000 when he posted scores of 67-67-68-68 at English Turn Golf and Country Club. Watney is the only player to post all four rounds in the 60s at the TPC Louisiana course. The Buick Invitational winner has been outside the top-25 just once (T59/Northern Trust Open) in nine starts this season.

ADDITIONAL STORYLINES: Toe-to-Toe – Sean O’Hair (26) joins Nick Watney (27) as 20-something Americans who have two PGA TOUR victories. Both players also went toe-to-toe with the world’s top two players earlier this year – Watney against Phil Mickelson at WGC-CA Championship and O’Hair versus at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. O’Hair, who finished T10 at the Masters for his fifth top-10 of the year, has not finished outside the top-25 this season, except for a missed cut at the Transitions Championship where he was defending champion.

Na good – Kevin Na hasn’t had much success at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans but look for that to change this year. Na, who has three missed cuts and a withdrawal from four starts in the Crescent City, is quietly putting together a good year in 2009. The 25-year-old South Korean, who now resides in Rancho Cucamonga, has three top-five finishes (T5/Sony Open, 3/FBR Open, 5/Mayakoba Golf Classic) and a tie for eighth at the Transitions Championship. Na currently ranks third in scoring average (69.52) and lies 16th in the FedExCup standings (thru Masters).

Flesch makes change – Steve Flesch won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2003 and has three other top-10 finishes at this event (T6/2000, T2/1999, 2/1998). The 41-year-old left-hander may be on the up after changing irons at the Transitions Championship, where he finished seventh. It was his best showing since a sixth at last year’s PGA Championship. Flesch jumped 72 spots (195 to 123) on the FedExCup standings with his finish in Tampa, the biggest move that week. A T6 at the Masters Tournament, where he shot 9-under on the weekend, advanced Flesch to 82nd on the FedExCup standings.

High Five! – The five players who have the best scoring average on the PGA TOUR (through the Masters) are all scheduled to play the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Player Rounds Scoring Average Kenny Perry 36 69.39 Nick Watney 36 69.51 Kevin Na 35 69.52 Sean O’Hair 33 69.57 David Toms 30 69.65

Changes for CH III too – Charles Howell III made a change at the Transitions Championship too, using TaylorMade’s R9 driver to find the fairways at Innisbrook Resort. Howell, who finished T2 in Tampa, ranked T10 for the week in accuracy. He had been ranked 100th on TOUR in that stat heading into the week. Howell recently switched instructors, going from David Leadbetter to Todd Anderson, and is seeing some swing changes come to fruition. He has cashed checks in nine of ten starts this season and the T2 finish at the Transitions Championship was his best since winning the 2007 Nissan Open. The Augusta, Georgia native had played eight consecutive Masters Tournaments (2002-08) before failing to make the field for the 2009 edition.

Romero loves last four – When Andres Romero won last year with a score of 13-under 275, he played holes 15-18 at the TPC Louisiana 10-under-par for the week. Here’s a look at how Romero’s score over the last four holes compares with the 16 players who have scored double-digits under par at TPC Louisiana during the Zurich Classic of New Orleans:

Year Player Score Score for holes 15-18 2008 Andres Romero -13 -10 2008 -12 even 2008 Tim Wilkinson -11 -2 2008 Woody Austin -10 even 2008 Padraig Harrington -10 -1 2008 Nicholas Thompson -10 +1 2007 Nick Watney -15 -1 2007 Ken Duke -12 -1 2007 Anthony Kim -11 -4 2007 John Mallinger -11 -2 2007 Mark Calcavecchia -10 -1 2007 Chris Stroud -10 +1 2007 -10 even 2005 -13 +1 2005 James Driscoll -13 +1 2005 Chris DiMarco -12 +2 2005 Lucas Glover -12 even

Ogilvie lows – Joe Ogilvie was one of five players to shoot all four rounds in the 60s (66-67-66-68) at the 2004 Zurich Classic of New Orleans when he tied for second with Phil Mickelson, one stroke behind winner, Vijay Singh. Ogilvie’s only round in the 60s at this tournament since then is 69 in the first-round of the 2007 edition, finishing T80.

Ten overtimes but one at TPC - When the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was first played at TPC Louisiana in 2005, Tim Petrovic defeated James Driscoll and Chris DiMarco in a playoff with a par at the first extra-hole. There have been 10 playoffs in tournament history, with four going one extra-hole and two lasting three holes. However, Petrovic’s win was the only time a par was good enough for victory at the first extra-hole. Birdies got the job done the other three times.

Scoring at TPC Louisiana - The scoring average at the TPC Louisiana course last year was 71.996, ranking 32nd most difficult of 54 courses on TOUR in 2008. The most difficult hole last year was 476- yard, par-4 sixth hole, which averaged 4.366. Surprisingly, two eagles were recorded at the sixth-hole last year.

Kodak Challenge The par-three, 215-yard, 17th hole at TPC Louisiana is one of 30 holes in the Kodak Challenge, celebrating beautiful holes and memorable moments on the PGA TOUR. In 2009, 30 PGA TOUR tournaments will feature a designated Kodak Challenge hole. Players must play at least 18 of the 30 Kodak Challenge holes throughout the season to compete for $1 million and the Kodak Challenge trophy. A player’s lowest score relative to par on his best 18 Kodak challenge holes will be counted. The player with the lowest cumulative score relative to par wins. Nine players are currently tied for the lead at 5-under-par, including 2009 Masters runner-up, Chad Campbell.

17th hole stats – In 2008, 45.76% of the field hit the green in regulation at the 215-yard, par-3, 17th hole. There was almost double the number of bogeys as opposed to birdies for the week – 80 bogeys and 41 birdies. The hole ranked the fourth most difficult with a scoring average of 3.205.